Three members of a California family pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy for their role in a ring that shipped $600 million worth of stolen catalytic converters from California to New Jersey, federal prosecutors said.
Brothers Tou Sue Vang, 32, and Andrew Vang, 28, along with their mother, Monica Moua, 58, were part of “a national network of thieves, dealers, and processors” who provided the stolen auto anti-smog devices to a metal refinery for more than $600 million, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.
Twenty-one people from California and New Jersey have been charged in the case, prosecutors said. The three Sacramento family members pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport the devices in return for more than $38 million.
I apologize for marginalizing people’s feelings on the subject. I wasn’t thinking how my comment would affect people who have personally been victims of these criminals. I included my intent not to justify my carelessness, but to hopefully clarify my goals. I hoped to harness the outrage to direct it at something productive.
There are no defenders of catalytic converter thieves. Nobody is making the argument that destroying cars to steal precious metals is a critical component of our economy. I am not suggesting that it’s not worthy of anger and contempt.
I do still hope that more people become aware of wage theft. There are far more victims, a far greater percentage are unaware that they are victims, and there is infinitely more work to be done to fight wage theft. But I acknowledge that this was the wrong way to being it up.
I was gonna click the upward arrow for your heartfelt apology but then you had to bring the wage theft thing up again! Aaaah